Page 87 of Mortal Blood
I slumped in my chair, and then hissed as pain shot across my ribs again. Fucking Brennan.
“I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can,” he said.
“No.” I shook my head. “Focus on my mom. I’m fine here. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
His jaw clenched again, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by the door swinging open.
“Time’s up. Fuck off so I can interrogate the prisoner, unless you want me to find you a cell here.”
The way Cole was glaring at Brennan I thought he might just be about to take him up on that—which was the last thing we needed.
“Go,” I told him and he reluctantly rose to his feet. “And Cole? I love you.”
“I love you too, princess.”
He ducked back down to kiss me softly, and for a moment it was just me and him, together.
And then the moment was over.
“Soon,” he promised me.
“Yeah, yeah, very touching. Fuck off, Bryant, before I have you up on conspiracy.”
Cole glared at him one last time before allowing the guard to escort him from the room. As he left, another figure I recognized walked in, and a surge of relief flooded through me.
“Councilor Verena,” I said, lurching to my feet.
“Sit down, Ellis,” she snapped, taking the seat opposite me and opening a manilla file in front of her. I sank back into the chair behind me, watching her warily. Her demeanor seemed different from last time I met her. That time, she’d seemed like she was on my side.
“I don’t suppose you could have the cuffs removed?” I tried. “I, um, seem to have injured myself, and it’s pretty uncomfortable.”
She glanced up at me from the file. “No.”
Brennan sneered at me wordlessly from across the table.
“O…kay. Then can you at least tell me why I’m here?”
“We’ll be the ones asking the questions, Ms. Ellis,” she said, setting the file down and giving me her full attention, “and I’ll thank you to remember it.”
Yeah, she definitely wasn’t on my side today. And I wasn’t sure if she was insisting my cuffs stayed on because she was pissed at me…or because she really thought I might be a danger. I hoped like hell it was the former though, because if they truly thought I was dangerous, then there was no way I was getting out of here any time soon. Cole might be heir to one of the most powerful packs in the country, but the council weren’t likely to be impressed by that. Astor maybe held enough sway, but that was a big maybe…and firmly in the irrelevant column, because there was no way she was in my corner.
But it did occur to me that it would be very nice to havesomeonein my corner.
“I want legal representation,” I said.
“I’m sure your pack will send someone in due course. Alternatively, if you provide us with the name of your preferred legal representative, I will have them summoned.” She arched a brow. “Do you have a name for me? Or shall we continue?”
“Continue,” I mumbled. Because I couldn’t have named a supe lawyer to save my life, and I was pretty sure it would be a cold day in hell before Cain sent someone to help me. He’d beentrying to kill me even before he’d fallen out with Cole, and I was pretty sure his feelings hadn’t warmed any.
“You are under arrest for violating a council directive to remain under preventative custody in your stipulated facility. Do you deny it?”
I hesitated. Admitting to doing wrong was hardly going to help my cause.
“There’s no point in denying it. We have witnesses.”
I blinked at her, because I was pretty damned sure there weren’t.
Brennan curled his lip. “Told you I’d be watching, dhampir.”
